Foldable article case



Sept.- 22, 1925. 1,554,477 A. H. WOLFE FQLDABLE ARTICLE CASE Filed Jlilv10. 1924 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ammtoz I fw A. H. WOLFE FOLDABLE ARTICLECASE Sept. 22, 1925.

Filed July 10, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 wvweoo Patented Sept. 22, 1925UNITED STATES PATENTQO FFICE. i JARTI-IURYH. WOLFE, or PHILADELPHIA,msfimma, mama or na -mu T0 nURwAnn A.:WOLFE, or ennnn nAr Ds, nIcHIeAEOLDABLE ARTICLE o AsE. f

Application filed July 10, 1'a24.- Serial N6.--7 :z5,274.-

To all whom c'tmay concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. WoLrn, a citizen of'the United States,residing at WV. Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinFoldable Article "Cases; and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to V which it appertains to make and use-the-.r'uh

My invention of others. Y

and container are bodily extended from the 01? tracks and shoes isprovided, the tracksbeing disposed at opposed walls of thecasa-r ing,and the shoes being slidably engaged The principal object oftheinvention i provide an extremely simple and inexpensive device of thetype set forth, in which an article container is mounted 1n a uniguemanner, in a comparatlvely flat caslng'having an open side, saidcontainer beingmovf able through said open side of the casing, to aposition at an angle to the latter, when ever desired, so that thecasing contents may be readily accessible. .7

In carrying out the above end, a fur'ther' aim is to provide a structureinwhichthe article container may recline toward f'on'e wall ofthe'casing when said container is swung outwardly,thus providing forholding the container in an extended 'pos'ition" stantially horizontalsupport. a

for use, when the casing rests on any'sub- Another ob'ect of theinventionis to pro vide a sheath for the article container, said sheathbeing normally within the casing and retaining the container in thelatter,

said container however being outwardly movable from the sheath,"whensaid'sheath casing.

In provlding for the desired movements of the container, or the sheathand the container as the case may be, an arrangement with said tracks,a" further object of the invention being to provide an improved relatesto improvements in foldable cases for containing numerousarti f cles,such as cigarettes, matches, playing cards, visitingfcarcls,stamps, anda myriad i i which may-.befreadilycarried within 'the' position- 7'-7ofFig.' 3. p I

on-111168 8 of Fig. 6,

track-forming structure which 'will notonly' through which matches maybe inserted,-

gvhen itis desiredto strike" them "upon the stilli' further object is toprovide af s mple, light and compact "foldable case users pocket,with-out danger ofinjuring thepocketliningJ impart an attractiveappearance to the i .:W'th the fo'regoingand inino'r objects v1ew,thelnventionresides'inthe novelsubject flmatt'er "hereinafter; 'describedand claimed, the description being supplemented by the accompanyingdrawings. F Figure lis a perspective viewsh'owing one i'orin of? Figure2 is a: view" similar" to Fig. ,1 but partly "in" section, showing thesheath and the article container swung out of the cas mg: and alsoshowing said article container swung-out et th sheathfi ff Figure 3' isaperspective' view -of the catsing shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

:Figure 411s aperspective view oft he arti- M 5 cle container. V

' Figure; 5 is a perspective view of the :I FigureGis a verticalsectional viewtak'en sheath.

substantially on line '6 6- of Fig. 2.

1 Figure. 7 is a vertical Figure 8 isa horizontal sectional view Figure9 is an enlarged the pocketcase inits lclosedf i section-on line vhorizontal" se tional' view on 1iI'1e"9 .9 p

Figure is a'vertical; section on: li I a perspectiveviewjshowing1adifierentv form of article container whi h;

is mounted directly within thebuterjcaSing instead of, being-confined'within ashe'ath.

Figure 12 is a perspective view showing a modified form of outer casing.

Figure 1.3 is a perspective view showing a greatly simplified'casingwhich may in some instancesffibe preferable.

I will first describe the form of construe- W The bottom platef i andall ofthe walls 5,16

and] "are preferably formed from a single piece of sheet rnetahsuch asaluminum, and when the walls '57 are stamped, they are formedfabouttwice as w-ideasithe front and ,1 back walls 5 and dso that said, sidewalls outwardly 'away from the-fiangesaas seen oi ,the casin may havetheir upper'portions bent inward-s ly and downwardly. to iprovitle flat,vertical flanges 8 at the inner sides-of thesidewal'ls proper, I ithe,latter being preferably bowed for instance in'Figs. 2, 3, 6 a-nd7;i' Thetrout and back walls 5 and 6 are also by preferenceiboiw ed transverselyias shown, so that roundedviormation is. provided at all edges'giviingzan attractive afppear V ance and overcon in-ggdanger of anysharp edges injuring the lining of the'userspocket, when the device isbeingc'ariiied therein,

At their rear ends, the flanges 18.22am

formed with .longiqtudinalfslots {9 'co=nstitiit ing tracks for apurposeto'appea'r, said. tracks being short with respect 430- the ilien gth ofthec w-allsf; Entrancethroats 10 are formed into the slots 9,-aI-1'd-tlie functiono-f :.these throats will be also described ;-here'in- I Iafter.

ate sheath :2, {is ot substantially Uash-apu form, being provided withtwo ,par'alleliflat sideyplates 1 1 and with a transversely.-curvedfront wall 12.

This sheath isalso preferablygprovided with .a fiat'side wall1213 joinedto the plates 11 and wall '12,;said;s-ide :wal'l 1 .,Jfiweverf haying aiiiathe-r large opening 14 for a purpose to appear, \v'hi-le-"itheside.

;-plates 11 are preferablyformed withwaroumonstruction.

ate slots 15 whose functionv s iiibedlateri, 1,. v x The articlecontainer 8 isrjeceivediwi'thin the. sheath: 2; and it; I may; be ofcdesi red It is preferiab l-y' providedhowever 'wi than open .top and aclosed bot .tom,, and is Eequippejd with 1a pair of ears 16' projecting;.beyonjd said bottom for; ifClilSPOSltion at the freekends,of the' side:pl'atjesw11-.-f

will also be 1613? A rod 17 passes through openings in the ears 16 andthe above-named free ends of the side plates 11, and the ends of thisrod project slightly beyond said side platesand are provided with anyappropriate *"fiat heads 18. The projecting portions of the rod 17andthe headslS are downwardly insertible through the throats 101015 thecasing '1,so

'that said portions of the rod will be received in the slots or tracks 9and will constitute shoes which may slide along said tracks. 1

The wall 12 of the sheath 2 is provided with a knob 19 h-avinga shank 20receivable. in aslot- 21 formed in the free edge :of the front wall 5ofthe outer casing 1, so that by pushing upwardly upoirt'his lknob, thesheath 2 and container "3 may *beswun'g .upwardly, the rod 157 thenforming a pivot. When this pivotal action takes place, the rod is at the:rear ends of thetraclrs '9', but after, such swinging has beenaccomplished, the rod may he slid forwardly' within the tracks, sothat-the-sheath-Qljnay recline to ward the back wall 6 of the casing, asillustrated in rFig. 2-. ,The container :3 'may th'e'ngbe swungforwardly. to give access to its ;c ontents a nd to lirnitithe outwardswing ingj'ofsaid :container, it is provided with lugs 22 operablewithin the arcuate-slots; 15of theesheath 21., v

.The article container is preferably constructed from a single piece "ofsheet alum inumji and this :holds time also "of the sheath 2. ,Thecontainer in "question, in thBwOOIlH struction shown, cornpiiises a-front plate 23 having rearwardly bent flanges 2d at its vertical edges,and a back; plate 25 having: forwardly bent flanges 26 atlits verticaledges, the-front edges :of :thelflanges 26 being: bent inwardlyagain'stithe outer side o-fgtheifronti plate 23,.as indicated at-2"'?.,while *the two setsuiof flangesarein 'contact with each'other toprovide.vertical end walls, forfthe container, as shown most clear,- lyan EFugs;8 and 9.

The front ,ia'nd back '-w alls 23" and 25 bent upwardly from a bottoni:28 anduthe ar'et-te. 5p aickage,. while/'rthe. ina'tches remain in thesusuazl safety match "box -83, a n appro-, priate support 31beingprovided in the container. 3 to' support i'the drawer or innersection of .1 the imatcrh fbox extended above the011116]:FSBQtlOIl'QIfRFSlQGVQ, as seen infa zn-umber ottheviews,;said-."supports being shown onfly in :dofttedlines in The-paclrage '32 A and the "match im- 33 are adapted to abut reachother&at; their-inner r edges,"and the. outer edge [of fthe ina'tch boxengages-a ifiange 35 which' is 'sst'ainped within the casing.

wardly from the front wall;23of-the article one ofthe inwardlybent-edgesz27 isbent further at one edge of the slot 36 .as, .shownat.37 in Figs.i8 and 9- r I have previously mentioned an opening let inthe side wall 13 of the sheath. 2. This opening is to permit the usersfingers to engage the rear side of the container 3 when it isswungoutwardly"with the sheath 2,-

whereby said container may be forced forwardly as indicated in Fig. 2,giving easy access to the cigarettes 30 and matches 31,

or to any other articles which may be contained within the device.

In Fig. 11, an article container 3 is shown provided with shoes 18 whichare adapted to engage the tracks of a suitable outer casing, such asthat above described, or one of those to be hereinafter described. Thisform of container is not used with a sheath such as that abovedescribed, and it is provided with an angular flange 38 at its openupper end adapted to hook over the front wall of the outer casing, whenthe container is closed The intermediate portion of the flange 38 maywell be outwardly bowed to some extent as indicated at 39, so that theusers thumb may be readily engaged with it to open said. container" whendesired. A container of this general type may be constructed to carryany desired articles, cigarettes and matches being shown within it,accessible through openings 40 and 41, respectively. An opening 42 isalso shown giving access to the usual striking surface of the matchholder, it being understood that the matches shown are of the cardboardvariety, stamped from sheets which are secured together and bound at oneend.

In Fig. 12, a casing structure is shown which differs from thatpreviously 'described, in that only the intermediate longitudinalportions of the side walls 7 are transversely bulged, as indicated at43. These walls are provided with downwardly projecting flanges 8 andwith slots 9, and the casing is used in the same manner as above setforth.

A still further simplified casing structure is shown in Fig. 13, inwhich the opposed side walls 7 of the casing are of one-ply constructionand are strictly flat, track-- forming slots 9 being formed through saidwalls. Any desired .form of article container or article container andsheath, may be used in connection with the casings shown in Figs. 12 and13, and-I wish to" here further state that my invention is notrestricted toanyparticular type of article container, as theconstruction of. suchcontamer may vary a great deal according tothe usesfor whichit is adapted. It may. be further statedt-hat'within the scopeof the invention as claimed, numerous modifications may be made withregard to other-features of the invention.

,Itzwill be. seen from. the foregoing that f as -mple, inexpensiveandrlesirable devicev has been provided to ncarryout" the objects of theinvention,;and whileexcellent results have been'-.obtain'ed from" thegeneral construction shown, other constructions may be followed ifdesired, as above stated. I

'I claim: 1. A device of the class described comprising a substantiallyfiatcasing open .atone 7 side and having short longitudinal tracks alongopposed walls, said tracks being disposed only at one endof thewalls,.and a movable member received normally within said casing andhaving shoes slidably 'engaged with said track, said shoes'being no'rmally disposed at the outer ends of the "tracks and permitting outwardswinging of the movable member from the casing, while sliding of saidshoes toward theinnerends of the tracks permits the movable member torecline toward one wall of the casing.

i 2. A device of the class described compris ing a substantially flatcasing open at one side and having short logitudinal tracks alongopposed walls, said tracks'being disposed only at one end of. the walls,a sheath normallywithin said casing and having an open side,'said'sheathbeing provided with shoes slidably engaged with said tracks, said shoesbeing normally disposed at the outer ends ofthe tracks and permittingoutward swinging of the 'sheath from the casing, while sliding of saidshoes toward the inner ends of the tracks allows. the sheath to reclinetoward'one wall of the casing, and an article container movably mountedin said said tracks to permitoutward swinging of i the sheath andsliding thereof with respect to the casing, and an article containermov-' ably mounted within said sheath and adapted for movement throughthe open s de 4. A structure as specifiedin claim 3; said articlecontainer being pivotally mounted in the sheath by means of a rodpassing thereof'aft'e'r thesheath isswung outwardly.

iso

1l0 1 sheathan'd adapted for movementthrough I through po'fitions 0fea-id COIltfliEHQI end sheath, the ends o'f said rod forming theaforesa-id shoes.

A stmcture as specified in claim 3; said sheat h having Pun .dpening in:the si'd'e thereof opposite its open side, :Eo'r the pa rpose setforth.

6. A device of the class described ebm prising a substantiallyflat-'casing 1ravii1ghm'open side, mppb'sed Walls ofsa-id casing haw ingflaing es -ben't inwva'rdly and ffdwa rd 't ih'e --e10 sed side '01 thecasing, saiid opposed W'all's being transversely bowed 'env'ay .ir'omsaid flanges and {the latter being fio'nmed with florggi fiuijlinalslots, and e i'n'ov'able member-nemn'wl ly within said fca'sing, saidmember lfwih g shoe's projecting oll-inwardly thnoug'h fileafiferee'aifl sl'ot s. I

7. A eleviceifi the-class deseri'bed comprising a container so'penaifene end t'o rece'ive a match 106x, a portion :ef the front Wall ofsaid ee ngtzvine'r ibeingfet a ped i nwardly to through which the headedends: bf mil tdhes be inserted $01 fstf-il'z'il lfg 01'1 the bex. Intesbiman'y whereof I have hereunto af-

